December Love List: Tacos, Wish Lists and Holiday Treats Earn Top Spots on Social

Do you know if your brand is loved on social? True brand health is based on more than success in one social metric or sheer popularity—there is a big difference between Like and love. To find which brands seeing “love” on social, we went beyond fans and followers to focus on several different social metrics that showcase the reaction to brands across the social web. Using uberVU, Hootsuite’s listening and analytics solution, we’ve created The Love List, a collection of social data that ranks over 450 of the world’s biggest, most valuable brands.

Media and Entertainment brands dominated the November Love List, but in December, social’s love was directed at Food & Beverage brands with four landing in the top ten.

Starbucks took the number one spot thanks to some Christmas cheer. The brand has cultivated a passionate fan base by offering limited-edition and seasonal items, which results in spikes of excitement and sharing on social. From its adored seasonal “red cups” to holiday-themed drinks like the Peppermint Mocha and Eggnog Latte, Starbucks kept social merry in December, earning the number one spot on The Love List.

In October, we predicted that holiday wish lists might move aspirational and luxury brands up in the November rankings, but instead broadly popular brands dominated The Love List that month. With the December results the holiday season did in fact affect the rankings. While luxury brands overall didn’t climb the rankings, holiday shopping and gift-giving did help improve rankings for mid-range retail brands like Nordstrom and J. Crew. Straddling the line between aspirational and accessible, these brands pushed out some of the more accessible and budget brands that topped the list in months past.

Take a deep dive into how holiday-themed promotions and products helped several brands earn more love on social in our upcoming webinar. We’ll cover key data trends and insights from December’s Love List rankings and highlight how you can emulate the success of our top ten brands.